>> I too have become disillusioned.>>>> By Matt Patterson (columnist - Washington Post, New York Post, San>> Francisco Examiner)>>>> Years from now, historians may regard the 2008 election of Barack Obama>> as an inscrutable and disturbing phenomenon, the result of a baffling>> breed of mass hysteria akin perhaps to the witch craze of the Middle>> Ages.>>>> How, they will wonder, did a man so devoid of professional>> accomplishment beguile so many into thinking he could manage the>> world's largest economy, direct the world's most powerful military,>> execute the world's most consequential job?>>>> Imagine a future historian examining Obama's pre-presidential life:>> ushered into and through the Ivy League despite unremarkable grades and>> test scores along the way; a cushy non-job as a "community organizer";>> a brief career as a state legislator devoid of legislative achievement>> (and in fact nearly devoid of his attention, so often did he vote>> "present"); and finally an unaccomplished single term in the United>> States Senate, the entirety of which was devoted to his presidential>> ambitions.>>>> He left no academic legacy in academia, authored no signature>> legislation as a legislator. And then there is the matter of his>> troubling associations: the white-hating, America-loathing preacher who>> for decades served as Obama's "spiritual mentor"; a real-life, actual>> terrorist who served as Obama's colleague and political sponsor. It is>> easy to imagine a future historian looking at it all and asking: how on>> Earth was such a man elected president?>>>> Not content to wait for history, the incomparable Norman Podhoretz>> addressed the question recently in the Wall Street Journal: To be sure,>> no white candidate who had close associations with an outspoken hater>> of America like Jeremiah Wright and an unrepentant terrorist like Bill>> Ayers, would have lasted a single day. But because Mr. Obama was black,>> and therefore entitled in the eyes of liberal Dom to have hung out with>> protesters against various American injustices, even if they were a bit>> extreme, he was given a pass. Let that sink in: Obama was given a pass>> - held to a lower standard - because of the color of his skin.>>>> Podhoretz continues: And in any case, what did such ancient history>> matter when he was also so articulate and elegant and (as he himself>> had said) "non-threatening," all of which gave him a fighting chance to>> become the first black president and thereby to lay the curse of racism>> to rest?>>>> Podhoretz puts his finger, I think, on the animating pulse of the Obama>> phenomenon - affirmative action. Not in the legal sense, of course. But>> certainly in the motivating sentiment behind all affirmative action>> laws and regulations, which are designed primarily to make white>> people, and especially white liberals, feel good about themselves.>>>> Unfortunately, minorities often suffer so that whites can pat>> themselves on the back. Liberals routinely admit minorities to schools>> for which they are not qualified, yet take no responsibility for the>> inevitable poor performance and high drop-out rates which follow.>> Liberals don't care if these minority students fail; liberals aren't>> around to witness the emotional devastation and deflated self-esteem>> resulting from the racist policy that is affirmative action. Yes,>> racist. Holding someone to a separate standard merely because of the>> color of his skin - that's affirmative action in a nutshell, and if>> that isn't racism, then nothing is.>>>> And that is what America did to Obama. True, Obama himself was never>> troubled by his lack of achievements, but why would he be? As many have>> noted, Obama was told he was good enough for Columbia despite>> undistinguished grades at Occidental; he was told he was good enough>> for the US Senate despite a mediocre record in Illinois; he was told he>> was good enough to be president despite no record at all in the Senate.>> All his life, every step of the way, Obama was told he was good enough>> for the next step, in spite of ample evidence to the contrary.>>>> What could this breed if not the sort of empty narcissism on display>> every time Obama speaks? In 2008, many who agreed that he lacked>> executive qualifications nonetheless raved about Obama's oratory>> skills, intellect, and cool character. Those people - conservatives>> included - ought now to be deeply embarrassed.>>>> The man thinks and speaks in the hoariest of clichés, and that's when>> he has his Teleprompters in front of him; when the prompter is absent>> he can barely think or speak at all. Not one original idea has ever>> issued from his mouth - it's all warmed-over Marxism of the kind that>> has failed over and over again for 100 years.>>>> And what about his character? Obama is constantly blaming anything and>> everything else for his troubles. Bush did it; it was bad luck; I>> inherited this mess. It is embarrassing to see a president so willing>> to advertise his own powerlessness, so comfortable with his own>> incompetence. But really, what were we to expect? The man has never>> been responsible for anything, so how do we expect him to act>> responsibly?>>>> In short: our president is a small and small-minded man, with neither>> the temperament nor the intellect to handle his job. When you>> understand that, and only when you understand that, will the current>> erosion of liberty and prosperity make sense. It could not have gone>> otherwise with such a man in the Oval Office

>> I too have become disillusioned.>>>> By Matt Patterson (columnist - Washington Post, New York Post, San>> Francisco Examiner)>>>> Years from now, historians may regard the 2008 election of Barack Obama>> as an inscrutable and disturbing phenomenon, the result of a baffling>> breed of mass hysteria akin perhaps to the witch craze of the Middle>> Ages.>>>> How, they will wonder, did a man so devoid of professional>> accomplishment beguile so many into thinking he could manage the>> world's largest economy, direct the world's most powerful military,>> execute the world's most consequential job?>>>> Imagine a future historian examining Obama's pre-presidential life:>> ushered into and through the Ivy League despite unremarkable grades and>> test scores along the way; a cushy non-job as a "community organizer";>> a brief career as a state legislator devoid of legislative achievement>> (and in fact nearly devoid of his attention, so often did he vote>> "present"); and finally an unaccomplished single term in the United>> States Senate, the entirety of which was devoted to his presidential>> ambitions.>>>> He left no academic legacy in academia, authored no signature>> legislation as a legislator. And then there is the matter of his>> troubling associations: the white-hating, America-loathing preacher who>> for decades served as Obama's "spiritual mentor"; a real-life, actual>> terrorist who served as Obama's colleague and political sponsor. It is>> easy to imagine a future historian looking at it all and asking: how on>> Earth was such a man elected president?>>>> Not content to wait for history, the incomparable Norman Podhoretz>> addressed the question recently in the Wall Street Journal: To be sure,>> no white candidate who had close associations with an outspoken hater>> of America like Jeremiah Wright and an unrepentant terrorist like Bill>> Ayers, would have lasted a single day. But because Mr. Obama was black,>> and therefore entitled in the eyes of liberal Dom to have hung out with>> protesters against various American injustices, even if they were a bit>> extreme, he was given a pass. Let that sink in: Obama was given a pass>> - held to a lower standard - because of the color of his skin.>>>> Podhoretz continues: And in any case, what did such ancient history>> matter when he was also so articulate and elegant and (as he himself>> had said) "non-threatening," all of which gave him a fighting chance to>> become the first black president and thereby to lay the curse of racism>> to rest?>>>> Podhoretz puts his finger, I think, on the animating pulse of the Obama>> phenomenon - affirmative action. Not in the legal sense, of course. But>> certainly in the motivating sentiment behind all affirmative action>> laws and regulations, which are designed primarily to make white>> people, and especially white liberals, feel good about themselves.>>>> Unfortunately, minorities often suffer so that whites can pat>> themselves on the back. Liberals routinely admit minorities to schools>> for which they are not qualified, yet take no responsibility for the>> inevitable poor performance and high drop-out rates which follow.>> Liberals don't care if these minority students fail; liberals aren't>> around to witness the emotional devastation and deflated self-esteem>> resulting from the racist policy that is affirmative action. Yes,>> racist. Holding someone to a separate standard merely because of the>> color of his skin - that's affirmative action in a nutshell, and if>> that isn't racism, then nothing is.>>>> And that is what America did to Obama. True, Obama himself was never>> troubled by his lack of achievements, but why would he be? As many have>> noted, Obama was told he was good enough for Columbia despite>> undistinguished grades at Occidental; he was told he was good enough>> for the US Senate despite a mediocre record in Illinois; he was told he>> was good enough to be president despite no record at all in the Senate.>> All his life, every step of the way, Obama was told he was good enough>> for the next step, in spite of ample evidence to the contrary.>>>> What could this breed if not the sort of empty narcissism on display>> every time Obama speaks? In 2008, many who agreed that he lacked>> executive qualifications nonetheless raved about Obama's oratory>> skills, intellect, and cool character. Those people - conservatives>> included - ought now to be deeply embarrassed.>>>> The man thinks and speaks in the hoariest of clichés, and that's when>> he has his Teleprompters in front of him; when the prompter is absent>> he can barely think or speak at all. Not one original idea has ever>> issued from his mouth - it's all warmed-over Marxism of the kind that>> has failed over and over again for 100 years.>>>> And what about his character? Obama is constantly blaming anything and>> everything else for his troubles. Bush did it; it was bad luck; I>> inherited this mess. It is embarrassing to see a president so willing>> to advertise his own powerlessness, so comfortable with his own>> incompetence. But really, what were we to expect? The man has never>> been responsible for anything, so how do we expect him to act>> responsibly?>>>> In short: our president is a small and small-minded man, with neither>> the temperament nor the intellect to handle his job. When you>> understand that, and only when you understand that, will the current>> erosion of liberty and prosperity make sense. It could not have gone>> otherwise with such a man in the Oval Office